Optical adapters are used to optically couple together optical fiber tips of optical connectors. The optical adapters include an alignment structure that aligns the fiber tips to enable the transfer of optical signals therebetween. Optical connectors can be secured to the optical adapters when received at the ports of the optical adapters.
Fiber optic communication systems are becoming prevalent in part because service providers want to deliver high bandwidth communication capabilities (e.g., data and voice) to customers. Fiber optic communication systems employ a network of fiber optic cables to transmit large volumes of data and voice signals over relatively long distances using a high power diode laser to launch a laser beam into the optical fiber. The high power laser beam used to carry information is usually invisible. As such, the human eyes will be unable to sense the high power laser beam if it leaves from an open end of a fiber cable.
While shutters have been used in the prior art to obstruct light beams emitted, improvements are desirable in this area.